The Story Behind the Shadows and Lights
by ghost of futures past
Summary: Link stared at the figure ahead of him, one who looked identical to him except that he seemed to be bathed in darkness and had glowing red eyes. Both him and his...twin stood with their swords in hand, prepared to fight.
1. Chapter 1

Hello, this is my first publish, i hope some people like it

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It must have been at least nine o'clock in the evening by now. It was still rather early to Link, and he would've continued on his way to Kakariko Village if he had no mercy on his horse, Epona. He'd had her running around all day without stopping and only found it fair he let her rest earlier, seeing how tired she was.

Holding Epona's reigns to walk her, the boy dressed in green headed over to a nice little clearing in the woods before stopping and sitting on a large rock. The night wasn't cold but it wasn't at all too warm either, so Link settled on making a small fire.

"Busy day for you, wasn't it?" Link chuckled, reaching into a small satchel he carried and pulling out an apple for Epona. Link wasn't a person of many things. His satchel didn't hold much except for a few extra pieces of clothing, some trinkets in which he couldn't even remember where he'd gotten them, some fruits and a flask of water. Besides those things all he had was the sword and shield he always carried, a rather lot of rupees, and of course his horse Epona.

He reached back into his satchel to grab the flask of water.

There was a tree behind the rock he sat on, and he leaned back against it as he drank from the flask.

A moment later Link froze, swearing he saw two red eyes watching him from his peripheral vision.

Link lowered the flask and stood up straight, only there was nothing where he'd seen the red eyes. He must have been imagining it.

He actually believed it, only a moment later Epona let out a loud neigh, standing up on her rear legs before running off before Link could even do anything.

Link jumped onto his feet, sword in his left hand and his shield in the other. He looked around, trying to see if he could spot anyone or anything nearby, only he saw nothing, nothing at all.

"What the-" he stopped talking when he saw red eyes staring back at him. All he could see were the red eyes, the rest of it was bathed in shadows.

Link positioned himself in a fighting stance so he'd be prepared to fight if...whatever was looking at him decided to attack.

After a moment the red eyes began to move forward into the light from the fire Link had built revealed what it was, and Link's eyes couldn't help but widen.

In front of Link stood an almost exact replica of himself, the only difference being that he seemed to be completely made up of darkness, shadows, and had glowing red eyes. A Dark Link. Floating around him seemed to be a fairy too, only unlike most fairy's that glowed, it did the opposite.

Dark Link stood still, watching the other Link with an expressionless face, before a smile spread across his lips.

Link stared at his...dark twin, his grib on his sword tightening. Dark Link's smile grew even wider, and a moment later he advanced forward.

Link quickly raised his sword to meet Dark Link's sword. Dark Link went to punch Link in the stomach with his free hand, only Link moved out of the way as if knowing what he was going to do. That was when it became clear to both of them that the fight would be almost impossible to win, as it was hard to beat yourself.

And Dark Link most certainly was not going to waste his time when he could find a better way of achieving what he wanted with obvious success.

"This won't be the last time we meet, brother," Dark Link laughed, before with amazing speed vanishing back into the darkness he came from, leaving behind a confused Link.

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So there'll be a lot more to this story as it goes on, and I'll try and make it as interesting as possible


	2. Chapter 2

Its been a while since I uploaded chapter one, and I decided to pick up right where it left off. Apologies for the long wait, but this chapter was rather hard to write. I hope it came out well.

And to thanks to the people who have read the first chapter and are now reading this. feel free to comment on anything I wrote, and feel free to give any advice you think may help my writing.

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Link stood staring for a few seconds at the place Dark Link had stood just moments earlier, alone and confused. At least he still had his sword and satchel.

Questions filled his head, but the only question he desperately wanted the answer to was _what the hell just happened?_

Of course he was well aware as to what just happened; he'd been attacked by Dark Link, or at least that was what he was calling him. But why? Where did Dark Link even come from? And what did Link do to make Dark Link want to attack him?

Link decided to push the questions away. Dark Link had said that wouldn't be the last time they met; maybe next time they met he would be able to figure out more. With a sigh he decided to turn his attention to other concerns.

It would take longer to reach Kakariko Village without Epona. He guessed it would take a little over a days walk. With Epona he probably could get there by sunset the next day.

Was it even still worth trying to get there? He was only headed there to get himself some more supplies, such as some more food-as in fruits, since he could very well hunt for his own food-and some other things of the sort.

Link decided he could live without fruit. He wasnt so concerned about Epona, since it wasnt the first time the horse ran off. She always managed to get back to him, so he had little worry if anything happening to her.

Now, where else could he go if he wasn't going to Kakariko Village?

Link pulled his map out of his satchel and used the light from the fire to see it. After scanning it for a long moment, Link's eyes settled on a city in the centre of the map. _The City of Hyrule. _

He stared at the city for a long moment before find his current location in the forest. To his surprise, it wasn't too far. He could quickly get to Hyrule field the next morning and get to the city by nightfall the next day.

The answer to his question answered he folded up the map and put out the fire. He most certainly wasn't going to spend the rest of the night in the location he had just been attacked, especially since if Dark Link wanted he could return and attack him while he was asleep. Only something told Link it didn't matter where he went, if Dark Link wanted to he could find him, only it wasnt only Dark Link who coukd find him; he felt certain if he wanted to he too coukd find Dark Link.

He couldn't have been more correct.

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Princess Zelda walked down a blue carpeted corridor. She was headed towards her bedroom, planning on sleeping early since it was supposed to be a long day tomorrow. Although something in the back of her mind kept bothering her.

A few days earlier a group of soldiers had been sent into the Faron Woods. Somewhere within the woods a mirror had been found. After having investigated the area, they found the mirror and found it to actually be a portal. The portal lead into what appeared to be a realm of darkness.

Most would think a realm of darkness would be a place of evil, only Zelda didn't believe in such things. Darkness itself was not evil, what made it evil were the beings that used its powers for evil.

With that, Zelda had sent a group of soldiers to the Mirror of Darkness. An even amount of soldiers went in the portal and remained outsie to guard it, if anything were to happen.

That had been six days ago. Not so much as one soldier had returned yet. They hadn't a clue as to whether they were alright or not or why they hadn't returned yet.

As if her mind had been read the princess heard her voice be called and turned around to find a soldier approaching her. Once the soldier stood about a yard away from her he stopped and bowed before rising again. "Excuse me princess, but I bring news about the Mirror."

"Have the soldiers returned?" The princess asked calmly, looking the soldier in the eye. She stood with perfect posture, her hands folded in front of her.

The soldier shook his head. "No-but we sent a few men to see why the others hadn't returned yet..."

By the way the soldier trailed off the princess knew they hadn't found anything good. "And?"

"The soldiers we'd sent...all the soldiers who had stayed outside to guard the Mirror were found dead, slaughtered. We're not sure if anyone actually made it out of the Mirror but our best gues is they didnt or got stuck in the other realm..."

"Stuck?" Princess Zelda said bemused. "But the Mirror allows passage both ways. How could they be stuck?"

The soldier seemed hesitant to answer. His eyes were wide and it was clear the events had frightened him. Had he been one of the soldiers to go see why the others hadn't returned? Could the sight have been that bad?

"The Mirror was found shattered, Your Highness," he finally spoke.

The Princess fell silent hearing upon hering that, her mind processing everything she just heard. Something was missing.

"Is that all you found?"

The soldier looked even more hesitant to answer. It was obvious he was debating as to how to respond. "T-there was-we think-" the soldier struggled to speak. "A winged beast with no specific form, or more like with altering forms, made of shadows managed to escape the Mirror," he finally forced himself to say. "Or at least thats where we think it came from. We spotted it in the fields...and we think its headed towards the city."

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So we get a new character here, Princess Zelda. I plan on bringing in more characters, such as Ganondorf (although I may not exactly make him evil, as the antogonist for this story wouldnt be him), Midna, Saria, and a couple of others. If theres anyone the readers of this story want to see feel free to make requests.

There isn't much action in this chapter and theres more dialogue but I plan on having some action in the next chapter, and I'd also like to reveal some things about Dark Link. Hopefully it wont take me so long to upload the next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

A while back someone mentioned something about Dark Navi, if I'm not wrong.

Sorry about the wait, I actually finished this chapter earlier but I wasnt happy with how it came out. This was the best i could manage, hopefully the next chapter will be better.

So now enough of that, I hope you enjoy Chapter 3.

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_**It's just up ahead, just a bit farther**_

_Dark Link forced his legs to keep moving and push him ahead. He knew his knees would buckle under him any second but he had no choice but to keep moving. He had to make it, he had to-_

_He collapsed onto the cold dirt, scraping his already bloody arms and legs. He was weak, all his strength drained out. He had to get up, had to make it out, but just laying there on the cool dirt felt like such a good option. Maybe no one would notice him, maybe they'd just run right past him._

_But then what? _

_The __**Mirror of Light**__ was just up ahead. How could he give up when it was just within his grasp? How could he give up when he'd promised he'd make it out, and the key to fulfilling that promise was just within his reach? _

_He could hear the sound of the soldiers the had come from the Realm of Light coming from behind. They were still some distance away, but he'd still have to hurry._

_As Dark Link forced himself back onto his feet with the very last bit of strength he had, he couldn't help but hope that the soldiers would each get slaughtered. They deserved it; it wasn't enough that they'd entered the realm treating its inhabitants like crap, but they also awakened the beast that had brought an onslaught that nearly murdered every being of darkness centuries ago after being warned not to do so. Now all his people were slaughtered, each and every single being of the dark, except for him and the beast himself._

_The soldiers and beasts were approaching faster than he expected them to. With all he had left he pushed himself through the mirror as he got close enough to do so, collapsing onto the other side._

_It was blindingly bright. He could barely make out the stone floor he lay on. Soldiers gathered around him, each dressed in the same glistening metal armour that reflected sunlight off if them as the the soldiers that had gone in the __**Dark Realm**__ had worn. They held their swords out at him. Had they decided to kill them there and then they could've, had they not been distracted with what came out of the Mirror next._

_A winged, red eyed beast who's form continuously altered, making it look like several beasts with one body, made its way out of the Mirror, the Mirror shattering behind it. Dark Link swore he saw what looked like a small, little black orb with wings make its way out besides the beast but he could've imagined it. _

_If the soldiers back in the other realm had not been murdered yet then they were stuck there n__ow._

_The beast made no hesitation in killing the soldiers, and Dark Link hadn't expected it to hesitate. Still, the manner in which the beast killed the soldiers shocked him. He'd tear of a limb, maybe two before actually killing the soldiers, making sure that they would suffer. The last soldier who tried to run got the worst of it. The beast whipped up the soldier in its claws before throwing him against a stone wall with so much force that the wall cracked. The soldier was still alive, but almost all his bones if not all of them must've been shattered. The beast walked over to soldier, silent as a cat as it made its way closer to him. Dark Link had to look away as it looked as if the beast was skinning the soldier alive, the soldiers screams ringing loud into the air. After what felt like an eternity, the screams stopped. Dark Link looked back to find the beast standing over him, looking down at him with blood red eyes. He was almost sure he would be the next victim in the massacre, only a moment after the beast stretched out its wings and flew off, leaving him there._

_Not to long after, the winged black orb he thought he'd imagined reappeared and made its way over to him. It seemed to flicker in and out of existence before finally it collapsed, too, just in front of Dark Link. What he'd mistook as some random, winged black orb was actually a fairy, and a rather familiar fairy dressed in a translucent black dress that was torn and blood stained._

_Dark Link had never been such a big fan of Navi, and usually found her to be a bit annoying, but seeing her now, despite the fact she was just as beat up as he was, brought if only a little bit of joy back to him. At least he wasn't alone._

_A short, painful laugh made its way out of him before his world faded to oblivion._

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Dark Link was haunted by the memory of his escape, not even in his sleep could he escape them. It was most likely because the events had only just taken place a few days back, but nonetheless a surge of renewed hatred towards the Realm of Light and it's inhabitants boiled within him.

Yet, despite this hatred and anger, he couldn't bring himself to wish the same fate upon the people of this realm.

Dark Link was laying on on a thick tree branch that belonged to one of the few trees in Hyrule Field. One of his legs hung off the branch while one arm was slung over his forehead to block out some sunlight. Although it was still day, the sun would be setting soon.

He stretched his arm out in front of him and examined his hand. He eyes were only partially opened, just enough for him to see. His skin seemed to be tinted with grey under a light, though when it was dark, such as at night, it only appeared to be extremely pale.

Dark Link dropped his hand back down so that it hung off the branch like his leg did. Only a split second later he felt some foreign magic burning on his hand. He didn't have to look to see what it was, as he was already well aware of what it was. It was the piece of the triforce he held, it's magic burning as if to remind him it was still very much there. He couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the other two pieces, now that the ones who carried them have perished.

He pushed the thought out of his mind.

A soft buzzing sound rose to meet Dark Link's ears. He only had to slightly tilt his head to see that his guess as to what the source of the sound was was correct. Navi was fluttering around near his head.

"And here I thought I might actually get some rest," Dark Link said, letting out an exaggeratedly dramatic sigh. "Looks like I was wrong."

He was really just aiming to annoy the dark fairy. Dark Link didn't so much as mind Navi, as he had actually come to appreciate her being around, and even so now more than ever. He wouldn't lie, there were times the fairy could be a bit of a nuisance, but he'd learned how to simply tune her out at those moments.

The fairy landed on his chest with her arms crossed, her violet eyes glaring at him. Dark Link chuckled seeing he had successfully achieved his goal.

It was noticeable the fairy hadn't quite healed from all her injuries. Neither had Dark Link. Normally the fairy would heal him when he was hurt, but in the state she'd escaped she was in no shape to be exhausting herself by using magic, so Dark Link didn't even so much as ask.

Navi rolled her eyes, sitting down. "Bright Link is headed towards the city."

The Realm of Light was almost identical to the Realm of Darkness, at least geographically wise. There were a few differences Dark Link had picked up, but they were small. He wondered if the same went for the people, or just with a few specific ones such as his other self.

"So!" Navi said, jumping back on her feet suddenly and hopping from foot to foot. "Have you decided what you wanted to do yet?"

Dark Link looked at the fairy for a long moment. He knew she was beginning to get tired of just sitting around for the last few days.

"Not exactly..." Dark Link trailed off.

Of course he wanted vengeance. If the soldiers from the Realm of Light never gone to the Realm of Darkness, nothing would've happened. He would still be there, on his horse, travelling around trying to find places he had not yet explored or doing who knows what else. But then on the same side, how could he judge all the other people of the realm by the actions of just a few?

So in the end he found himself left with the option of seeking vengeance on the beast and the sole person who sent the soldiers to his realm. Clearly, he couldn't get vengeance on the beast, not yet at least, but as for the other option...

Dark Link's best guess was that it had been whoever that ruled over the city that sent the soldiers, which meant his best chance of getting there was through...

"Navi, how about we go after that other Link?" He asked.

Dark Link hated Link at first sight. He wanted nothing more than to kill his twin. Not because he had done anything to him, but because seeing him, a version of himself from the realm he had come to hate with a passion, a version of himself that came from the same place that the ones who made him lose all he had came from, have everything he had just lost had brought a wave of blinding anger and hatred. He wanted nothing more than to see him dead.

But it wasn't Link's fault it. He had no part in the events that happened with Dark Link. It didn't make Dark Link hate him any less, no, since he would still very much take any reason Link gave him as an opportunity to kill him, but he decided he wouldn't try to just right off kill Link.

"Why not!" Navi said oddly cheerfully. Still, it was the first time since they escaped the Realm of Darkness that Dark Link heard her sound cheerful. He had to admit he missed hearing that cheerfulness.

With that, he made no second thought as he sat up and pushed himself off the tree branch, Navi flying into his hat, and headed in the direction he knew Link was in.

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I actually ended up taking out a part of this chapter that was in Link's perspective, as it was one of the many things I wasn't happy with. I'll most likely work on it and start the next chapter with that part if I manage to make it to my liking. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and got some background on Dark Link.


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